Choreographer Jirí Kylián – at 69 years old – recently returned to ballet leadership with Lyon Opera Ballet. Here Kylián is taking up a position as associate artist with a three-year contract, following a stint of focusing on film and photography. He first started working with the company in the early 1980s, when director Françoise Adret was in place. He is now returning under the current artistic director, Yorgos Loukos.
Prior to this Kylián was artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater for 24 years, and then stood as resident choreographer for another ten. In 2009, he parted ways with the company and his works were no longer performed by 2014. Despite this – and his focus on a separate area of the arts – his choreography made up of classical lines and contemporary fluidity remains a cornerstone of neoclassical ballet worldwide.
In terms of Lyon Opera Ballet, the company will continue to present existing ballets in Kylián’s absence. When the choreographer is working directly with the company work will also be done on pieces he created for older dancers, and a photography exhibition, Free Fall. He does not plan to create any new work, instead concentrating on film and photography. However,such close proximity with the dancers may mean Kylián will be in the studio once more.
In the meantime is seems Kylián has withdrawn his works from the repertoire of Nederlands Dans Theater for three years until 2017. There are no plans to reintroduce the work, with the company now working with a new artistic director and consequently in a new direction. There is regular renewal of the company in this sense, and Kylián supports the move to new and different work.